Eat. Play. Sleep. The Ideal Newborn Schedule

Motherhood brings a new meaning to the word chaos. All of a sudden your world is flipped upside down and this tiny little thing has become the decision-maker in everything you do! It is important to be able to go with the flow, but it is also important for baby’s development and for your mental health to have some form of consistency and structure wherever possible.

Now this doesn’t mean I am trying to sell you on sleep training your baby, that is not at all what this is. Actually, as a Sleep Consultant I don’t suggest (and won’t start) any formal sleep training until after your child has reached 4-5 months of age, adjusted. And here is why…

Your child’s circadian rhythm, or their bodies natural internal clock, aligns with the light/darkness in their environment and is what helps to tell their bodies when they should feel sleepy and when they should feel awake. This is easy to see in adults: we naturally want to sleep when it’s dark outside and be awake when the sun is up. This is also why people who work night shift have a difficult time telling their bodies that they need to sleep during the day! However, babies are not born with the ability to use their internal clock quite yet. It does not fully develop until closer to 4 months of age - the age when I will give the okay to start working on a formal sleep training plan.

But, it is not a lost cause before that point! Until your child moves towards a schedule that aligns with their biological clock, I suggest following the Eat.Play.Sleep schedule to bring a sense of consistency to your schedule and to create a routine that your baby will thrive on.

Essentially, your daytime hours will follow this general guideline:

Eat. As soon as your little one wakes from sleep you want to focus on feeding them, whether that is through breast or bottle feeding. This not only helps avoid creating a feed-to-sleep association, but it also helps ensure they are bright eyed and taking in a full feed rather than falling asleep halfway through.

Play. Once baby is done their feed it is time to play! Practice tummy time, read books, or introduce developmentally appropriate toys. Use this period to interact and build those neural connections!

Sleep. And the last step is the most important! From the time they wake from their nap until it is time to get them back down to sleep is a very short period. In fact, their wake time will likely only be between 45-90 minutes! Ideally your little one will be in bed and ready for sleep when those cues start to show, but if you haven’t quite gotten to that stage and you start to see your babies’ sleepy cues (yawning, zoning out, etc.) you want to get them in to bed ASAP. Some parents find it useful to set an actual timer so that they don’t get distracted and end up with an overtired baby.

Once your little one has settled into a bit of a routine there is a chance they will extend their sleep periods, most commonly for about two hours. Which means that it is common for young babies to cycle through the Eat.Play.Sleep schedule approximately every 3 hours.

By following this schedule during the day and a baby-led schedule at night, you will not only be creating a healthy sleep schedule, but you will also be helping your child start to differentiate between daytime and nighttime, ultimately working towards eliminating the day/night confusion that all babies experience.

Do you need a little bit of extra help implementing a schedule or creating some healthy sleep habits for your newborn? Click here to chat with me and I can support you in making positive changes!